General Wayne Inn - Merion Station

The General Wayne Inn building was built on land purchased by William Penn. Originally called The Wayside Inn, this building has been continuously used since 1704, when a Quaker, Robert Jones, went into the Inn/restaurant business, with the idea to serve travelers going to and from Philadelphia and Radner, on the old Lancaster road way. The Wayside Inn became The General Wayne Inn in 1793, when it was renamed after a local Revolutionary hero. Because of its location, near Merion Station, many Revolutionary War battles were fought around the area of the Inn. Thus, this Inn has the distinction of playing host to American Patriots, such as General George Washington and Marquis de la Fayette, and to the British Redcoats and their hired, Hessian soldiers as well.

During the 1800s, many vacationing Philadelphians came to the area, and enjoyed fine dining at The General Wayne Inn, such dishes as Squirrel Ragout and Pigeon Stew. One of the famous guests was Edgar Allen Poe. Until the 1930s , there used to be a glass window that Edgar had scratched his initials on; E.A.P.

Besides being an inn and restaurant, this historical building in the past also has been used as a post office, a general store, and a social center for newly-arrived Welsh Immigrants.

After Mr. Johnson, various owners have run the General Wayne Inn. In 1996, the co-owners, Mr. James E. Webb and Guy Sileo, who were also best friends, were struggling financially. On the day after Christmas, 1996, Guy Sileo supposedly shot to death Webb in one of the third floor offices. (I'm sure the spirits residing there will give their moral support and have welcomed Mr. Webb if he had decided to stay.)

Sileo was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. Sileo claimed that it was his own hurt mistress, 20 year old Felicia, a chef at the General Wayne Inn, who shot Webb in revenge because Sileo refused to leave his wife for her. Webb had strongly disapproved of the affair between Felicia and Sileo. Felicia later killed herself.

The General Wayne Inn was purchased by Frank Cacciuti in October of 2001. Cacciuti had found great success in running the prosperous Seven Stars Inn, located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. As of July 21, 2002, Cacciuti closed the General Wayne Inn because he wasn't making enough money. Business hadn't recovered from the effects of the murder, and the local economy wasn't supporting it.

In 2004, someone else bought the place and made a go of it, as the restaurant was being advertised on the ExperiencePA web site. For some reason this effort didn't work out. When Tom and I visited this building the summer of 2006 during our cross country road trip, the local Jewish synagogue had bought the building, renovated it into a modern building now called Chabad Center for Jewish Life. However, the words, The General Wayne Inn are still displayed proudly on the side of the building, and it is still a historical building as the sign marking it as such still remains.

Name of the Game Bar - North Philadelphia

North Philadelphia has had its share or criminality and homicide. In 1960, West Norris Street's “Name of the Game” dive bar was the scene of a double homicide. It closed down later that year only to be reopened in the early 1970's. In 1983 another horrific crime became the basis for sightings of disturbed spirits. It is said that local Joe Costano stormed into bar late one night with his girlfriend, Maria Gallanti, held hostage at knife point. As the story goes, she was having an affair with a man Costano believed to be at the bar. The unstable Constano threatened to cut her throat if the man did not out himself as her secret lover. When no one stepped forward to admit to the affair Costano cut his girlfriends throat gruesomely in front of everyone watching a the bar. Luckily someone in the bar had a gun on them and shot Costano in the temple almost instantly after he cut her throat. To this day people claim that you can still hear sounds of the altercation take place within the since-close bar. Odd apparitions can also be seen through windows or out front of the bar. No one knows if these ghosts are from the Constano murders or deaths that have taken place there previously. The location of the bar can be found at 1822 W. Norris St. in Philadelphia.